Investment & Fund Management

Classter, a cloud-based platform providing management solutions for academic institutions, faced significant challenges as it sought to expand beyond its initial focus on the Greek market, where it primarily served private schools. By 2015, the company had begun to branch out, reaching over 400 academic institutions across the Balkans, southern Europe, Africa, and more recently, the UK and Germany. However, this internationalization effort coincided with a peak in the economic crisis in Greece, characterized by capital controls and political instability, which severely impacted their clients.

To address these challenges, Classter received financial backing from Odyssey Venture Partners and the European Investment Fund (EIF) through the JEREMIE Greece initiative. This investment was crucial, enabling Classter to enhance its product development and improve its user interface while also allowing the company to invest in sales efforts abroad. As a result, Classter was able to maintain its workforce during a tumultuous economic period, even hiring three new employees, which was a significant achievement given the circumstances.

The tailored solution provided by the investment not only helped Classter to stabilize during the crisis but also positioned the company for future growth. Looking ahead, Classter aims to further establish itself internationally and expand its team to 15-20 employees within the next 18 months, focusing on refining its product to offer a more self-service model. Despite ongoing challenges in finding skilled software developers, Classter remains dedicated to innovating within the education sector, with the potential to significantly impact how educational institutions operate.